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Exclusive: Matt Macklin Tips 2 Fights To Catch Fire Tonight In Dublin

This weekend sees the return of big time boxing to Ireland with MGM Marbella and Frank Warren’s ‘Second Coming’ event available to Irish and UK boxing fans live on BoxNation TV from Ireland’s capital in Dublin city.

We thought it would be a good idea to get in touch with MGM Marbella man and renowned Irish fighting son Matthew Macklin – to get his thoughts on the card tonight, coming back to Ireland, how the new promotional side of things with MGM is going, and whether or not we might see the Tipperary man fighting back in the Emerald Isle again before he hangs up the gloves.

Speaking on how much he was looking forward to coming back to Ireland for a professional show, Matthew said:

“Yeah really looking toward to it. We want there to be regular shows in Dublin so that fighters can build their fan bases & profiles that television exposure brings, at the same time as developing them as fighters & progressing through the rankings.”

Tonight’s card at the National Stadium in Dublin is jam packed with domestic and international talent top to bottom, but there’s two fights in particular that Matthew is tipping to watch out for from an action perspective:

“I think there are several fights on the card that could really catch fire. Sweeney vs Tims is one I’m looking forward to as there’s real genuine needle in it but I think Peter McDonagh vs Dean Byrne could be the fight of the night!”

Speaking on how the new promotional venture with MGM Marbella is going at the moment, Matthew was quick to deliver praise to an incredibly hard working team:

“To be honest, Daniel deserves most of the credit & also Anto as they’re the ones who are really hands on & deal with everything day to day. I give my opinion & advice but they’re the lads that are making it happen.”

Before our chat ended with the currently active light-middleweight contender, we wanted to know whether we might see the man himself back in a professional ring in Ireland, one more time before retirement. He’s certainly leaving the door open:

“I definitely hope so. Obviously I’m with Matchroom who have a deal with Sky television & this card & the last one was televised on BoxNation. But MGM has always said we’ll always do what’s best for our fighters & if Sky do come back to Ireland with myself which is a strong possibility then I’m sure there’d be several MGM fighters featuring on the undercard.”